Use the following pre-tests to evaluate your starting point. Remember to pay particular attention to words you “sort of” know. Answers are shown here.
Definitions
Match each word on the left with its definition on the right. (Watch out for secondary definitions!)
| 1. austere | a. completely soak |
| 2. plastic | b. outdated |
| 3. steep | c. sag or droop |
| 4. flag | d. not rigid |
| 5. contentious | e. tolerate |
| 6. rail | f. bless |
| 7. beatify | g. argumentative |
| 8. nice | h. without adornment |
| 9. archaic | i. complain bitterly |
| 10. brook | j. exacting |
Pair ’Em Up
In each of these lists, highlight the two words that are most similar in meaning. The other word may be an opposite, or may not be related at all.
1. dogmatic, waver, instransigent
2. didactic, pedagogical, whimsical
3. synthesize, conjoin, analyze
4. canonical, iconoclastic, heretical
5. tenuous, inherent, inveterate
6. accolade, opprobrium, elegy
7. hackneyed, trite, piquant
8. emollient, sophomoric, puerile
9. inchoate, nascent, reticent
10. renege, regale, rescind
Synonyms
Match the word in the first column with the word in the second column that is most nearly the SAME in meaning.
| 1. auspice | a. loquacious |
| 2. inimical | b. exculpate |
| 3. neophyte | c. phlegmatic |
| 4. garrulous | d. inherent |
| 5. timorous | e. itinerant |
| 6. indolent | f. portent |
| 7. capricious | g. diffident |
| 8. exonerate | h. pernicious |
| 9. inveterate | i. tyro |
| 10. peripatetic | j. mercurial |
Complete the Sentence
Based on clues within each sentence, choose the answer choice that, when placed in the blank, best completes the meaning of the sentence.
1. The Masked Marauder’s attempt to _________ with the money was foiled, since the police caught him before he left the building.
a) laud
b) censure
c) abscond
d) vacillate
e) amalgamate
2. On Thanksgiving, ________ of turkey left us in desperate need of a nap.
a) a surfeit
b) an anomaly
c) a torque
d) an acumen
e) a cacophony
3. The newspaper columnist strongly condemned the _______ used by the company to make a profit, pointing out that the only way it stayed in business was by cheating the public.
a) bombast
b) predilection
c) shard
d) plethora
e) chicanery
4. We realized how ________ his plans were when he couldn’t even tell us where he was going the next day.
a) aberrant
b) morose
c) garrulous
d) nebulous
e) contiguous
5. The critic pointed out that the Model T the main character, Jones, drives around is ________, given that the novel is set in Victorian England.
a) an anachronism
b) a hyperbole
c) a cynicism
d) a neologism
e) a diatribe
6. George was a frequent source of ________ for his colleagues, often frustrating them with his complete lack of tact.
a) derision
b) vexation
c) quiescence
d) convention
e) hubris
7. Although Gretchen’s delivery was ________, her words contained a wealth of meaning.
a) prodigal
b) martial
c) profuse
d) audacious
e) terse
8. The town had to be evacuated when the ________ gas was accidentally released from the chemical plant.
a) extemporaneous
b) noxious
c) heretical
d) laconic
e) urbane
9. His attempts to ________ the conflict were apparently successful, since now at least the two sides are talking.
a) burgeon
b) aver
c) harangue
d) ameliorate
e) obfuscate
10. The ________ language Foucault uses can sometimes make it difficult to follow his ideas.
a) glib
b) convoluted
c) solicitous
d) voracious
e) transient
Definitions
Match each word on the left with its definition on the right. (Watch out for secondary definitions!)
| 1. fetid | a. entertain |
| 2. denigrate | b. cautious |
| 3. indolent | c. belittle |
| 4. regale | d. stinking |
| 5. adulterate | e. lazy |
| 6. gossamer | f. punish |
| 7. castigation | g. assistance |
| 8. succor | h. reduce purity |
| 9. pillory | i. delicate |
| 10. chary | j. severe criticism |
Pair ’Em Up
In each of these lists, highlight the two words that are most similar in meaning. The other word may be an opposite, or may not be related at all.
1. avaricious, penurious, garrulous
2. indolent, pious, phlegmatic
3. glib, pithy, fundamental
4. plaintive, melancholy, pristine
5. quaff, abstain, satiate
6. cacophony, din, mellifluous
7. stymie, impute, filibuster
8. laconic, loquacious, prolix
9. inimical, malevolent, inimitable
10. disabuse, beguile, dupe
Antonyms
Match each word in the first column with the word in the second that is most nearly OPPOSITE in meaning.
| 1. dearth | a. rare |
| 2. assuage | b. unhealthful |
| 3. volatile | c. false |
| 4. torpid | d. condemnation |
| 5. ubiquitous | e. abundance |
| 6. adulation | f. incite |
| 7. disinterested | g. wither |
| 8. salubrious | h. constant |
| 9. unfeigned | i. energetic |
| 10. burgeon | j. biased |
Complete the Sentence
Based on clues within each sentence, choose the answer choice that, when placed in the blank, best completes the meaning of the sentence.
1. Despite the loss to their crosstown rivals at the beginning of the season, the Garfield Geese were still highly ________ by their fans.
a) dissembled
b) relegated
c) flouted
d) touted
e) disparaged
2. Cassandra’s ________ about the upcoming battle were not quieted by the tendency of others to dismiss them.
a) queries
b) axioms
c) hegemony
d) parodies
e) qualms
3. Everything was calm until the mysterious stranger came into town; he must have been the ________ for the gunfight.
a) catalyst
b) eulogy
c) impunity
d) connoisseur
e) tirade
4. Bob’s ________ observations revealed a number of flaws in the design plan that no one else had seen.
a) discordant
b) untenable
c) capricious
d) ephemeral
e) trenchant
5. The ________ splendor of the Irish countryside was a source of constant amazement to Liza, who had lived in a city her whole life.
a) eclectic
b) irascible
c) bucolic
d) impetuous
e) virulent
6. Although the ________ of Clyde’s argument was sound, all his peripheral claims fell apart when he was questioned closely.
a) effrontery
b) approbation
c) ennui
d) pith
e) iconoclast
7. The desert air will ________ anything that doesn’t get regular access to water.
a) desiccate
b) refute
c) bolster
d) abate
e) divulge
8. Sheila’s attempt to ________ her previous controversial statement about the mayoral race didn’t win her many supporters; voters seemed not to believe her apparent change of heart.
a) exculpate
b) inveigle
c) recant
d) vilify
e) fulminate
9. Dennis’s complete lack of ________ shocked his fellow diners, especially when he kicked off his shoes, stood on the table and danced a vigorous jig.
a) fallacy
b) alacrity
c) grandiloquence
d) decorum
e) mendacity